Activist speaks on gay rights, equality

Kerry Lobel hopes to change the way homosexuals are treated in society and in politics. "We are in a state of virtual equality where we can see, feel and touch it? but it's not there," the activist told an audience Monday at Houston Hall. Lobel, director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, addressed about a dozen Penn alumni, undergraduates, graduate students and gay activists. The speech -- part of this year's program for the Bisexual Gay Lesbian and Transgender Awareness Days -- marked the 25th anniversary of the task force, a Washington, D.C.-based organization which crusades for gay rights and awareness. Lobel explained that although American society has become much more accepting of gays, it has done very little in the way of establishing legal protections for them. "There has been a tremendous cultural change that has reached every corner of the United States? but politically we're far from where we need to be," she said. Lobel also discussed the importance of the gay movement working to influence legislation at the state and local levels. Several of the students who attended the speech said they felt the program to be very important. "I think there is a strong sense of community here [at Penn]," said one student who requested anonymity. "But before I went to functions the gay students seemed invisible to me." Other students said Penn is slightly conservative when it comes to gay acceptance. "Some students here have a lack of exposure to gays and ignorance in general," said Chris Nguyen, coordinator of the Penn group Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People in Medicine. "But as they meet people, their attitudes change." For her part, Lobel expressed hope that the gay movement's objectives would eventually be met. "Americans agree with civil rights for gay people," she said. "The challenge is getting politicians to do what the country wants." As for the future of homosexuality, Lobel claimed that one day people will no longer classify each other as "gay" or "straight." A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, Lobel has worked with several activist groups, including the Women's Project in Little Rock, Ark., and the Southern California Commission on Battered Women, where she served as executive director. Lobel has also authored several books on AIDS and domestic violence.